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Aviation History
1965
1965 - 0022.PDF
REIMS-AVIATIO ]2 FLIGHT International, 7 January 1965 The I OOth Cessna 172 to be assem- bled in Europe by Reims recently left the production line, destined for Finland. Rate of production is now 11 aircraft per month. Britain's share in the venture is, of course, the Rolls-Royce-built 0-300 engine SPORT AND BUSINESS Lear Jet Round Up With three Lear Jets delivered, 83 on order, and a target of 100 to be flying this year, prospects for this go- ahead newcomer could hardly be better. Latest news is that a strong factory-supported organization has been formed to maintain contact with customers, and, on the technical side, automatic landing capability is expected to be available by the end of this year. First, the new support organization. Mr Robert S. Hagan has been appointed manager of customer relations, and he will be supported by two service engineers, a spare parts manager, and the head of the company's ground and flying personnel training centre. In addition to co-ordinating efficient deliveries of aircraft Mr Hagan's responsibilities include insuring prompt factory and field service, keeping agents and customers supplied with the latest performance and maintenance data, and relaying field experience back to the factory for action as necessary. Lear Jet has already appointed six US regional and seven international distributors— the most recent in the latter category being Aviones in Mexico City. The newly proposed automatic landing system is important as it is the first time such a capability has been firmly talked about in relation to business aircraft. Heart of the system is a smaller and lighter development of the autopilot installed and widely demon- strated in the Caravelle. Lear say the equipment will be fitted as standard as soon as it is certificated and that existing aircraft will be uapable of being fitted retrospectively. Deliveries of the first three Lear Jets were made towards the end of last year. The third (actually the fifth Lear Jet) was handed over to the Rexall Drug and Chemical Co, who were the first customer to sign an order for the aircraft (in February 1962). Rexall will receive two more this year. The first Lear Jet went to the Chemical & Industrial Corporation of Cincinnati and the second to Robert Graf lnc of Fort Lauderdale, both in November. A new possible outlet for the Lear Jet was explored early in December when a demonstrator was operated by Solar Airlines of Roswell, New Mexico, on flights between four communities on its regular network. The third-level airline had the aircraft with an eight-seat interior and flew it for a week on the routes linking Dallas, Roswell, Albuquerque and El Paso. The Fan Jet Falcons Are Coining By the time this issue appears the first production Fan Jet Falcon, alias Dassault Mystere 20 and destined for Pah American, the US distributor, should have begun its flight trials. Certification test flying of this biggest of the competitive executive twin jets started in May 1963 when the P & W JT12-powered prototype first flew. This aircraft has since been re-engined with the GE CF700, powerplant for production copies. The prototype has been used primarily for systems development. The test schedule is aimed simultaneously at French and United States type certification by May 1. This date has been calculated on the basis of, among other things, 50 hours' flying per month per aircraft. The second Mystere 20 is to fly in mid-February. Documentation supporting each stage of the certification programme is being submitted at the same time to the French and US airworthiness authorities. The FAA has special representatives in Paris working under the regional office in London. Once a week Dassault teams brief the FAA on progress. Aiding the manu- facturer with certification is Mr Robert Schroers of Boeing under the terms of the technical interchange agreement between the two manufacturers. Mr Schroers was chiefly responsible for seeing the 727 tri-jet airliner through its trials. On the sales side of things 40 Fan Jet Falcons are, of course, the subject of a firm order by Pan American for sale in America. The Business Jets Division of the airline is also understood to be close to taking up its option on a further 120 aircraft. Business Jets based in New York and their sales associates, Pacific Airmotive in Burbank, California and Field Aviation in Toronto have received deposits on most of the first 40 and it is understood that there are less than ten delivery line positions still available for potential US customers this year. Dassault are believed to have booked further orders in Europe and elsewhere for some 15 Mystere 20s. After widespread confusion that Pan American was leasing Fan Jet Falcons this is now being strenuously denied. Business Jets' sole object is to sell Fan Jet Falcons. Until a production demonstrator is available the company is booking orders and delivery dates on the basis of returnable deposits of at least $10,000. Interested customers will not be expected to firm up on their option (which includes a guaranteed delivery date) until they have flown in the aircraft on the routes for which they intend to use it. Jupiter Milestone The prototype of France's only piston-engined executive twin, the push-pull Moynet Jupiter, has been handed over to the Government flight test centre at Bretigny following completion of manufacturer's tests. The project is still not firmly committed to production though Sud-Aviation is closely associated. A second prototype is being built and expected to be ready for the Le Bourget Salon in June. Major differences in the new aircraft will be the fitting of more powerful 290 h.p. engines, a revised fuselage design suitable for optional pressurization and seating up to six passengers. Sud-Aviation's Nantes-Bouguenais and Rochefort works are involved building Jupiter components together with Matra, who built the prototype alone. Gregory Air Taxis of Denham, Luton and Plymouth have been appointed Piper agents by CSE Aviation Ltd, sole UK and Benelux distributors for Piper. More Potez 840 Sales In addition to the recent sale of an Astazou X powered Potez 842 to the French Ministry of Public Works and Transport, two of the P & W PT6A-powered 841 version have been ordered by two German industrial concerns. The first 841 will be delivered shortly, the second next September. A batch of 25 840s (some 841s and some 842s) are being built. BEAS Directorship Change Mr Rex Smith, managing director of British Executive Air Services for three years, has resigned owing to pressure of other work, and his post has been taken by Mr Robert Carr, a former wing commander in the RAF. During Mr Smith's term of office BEAS developed in many directions, noticeably in the use of light helicopters. Mr Smith will remain vice-chairman of the BEAS Board; his other posts are executive director of CSE (Aircraft Services) and CSE Aviation, and Principal of the Oxford Air Training School.
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